(Emperor Norton/Inertia)

Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever is Felix da Housecat’s follow up to the massive Kittenz and thee Glitz from three years ago.  This time Felix Staling is back with new collaborators (including James Murphy of DFA/LCD Soundsystem, Tyrone “Visionary” Palmer, Kate Wax, and the all-girl group known as The Neon Fever), and while the music is still squarely electro pop, this time Felix takes a more song oriented approach, including using live instruments. 

Running through Devin Dazzle is a theme of the excesses of nightlife under neon lights and its temptations.  Felix describes Devin Dazzle as “a character fascinated by the nightlife.  Every time he sees neon lights he gets the fever.”

After a brief intro, the album starts with the first single, Rocket Ride.  Introducing the vocals of The Neon Fever, asking to be taken “out of this messed up world”, it’s a piece of synth punk that has drawn comparisons to classic Blondie, but more strongly reminds me of an electronic version of all-girl punk group The Donnas.

Next up is What She Wants.  An upbeat jazzy rap, featuring live guitar, bass and drums, guest James Murphy from DFA/LCD Soundsystem provides the vocals, which alternate between experimental rapping and singing.  The Neon Fever appear again in Short Skirts, singing about the dangers of girls.  Musically simple, the vocals are slightly spoken and remind me of Miss Kittin’s most recent work or Chicks on Speed.

Ready 2 Wear is squarely in classic nu-wave territory.  With synth laden vocals provided by Tyrone “Visionary” Palmer over cool electro beats, I can imagine the track being playing in a quieter moment towards the end of a club night.  Romantique is more subtle.  Its simple, electronic beats are accompanied by strings, with Nina Rai and Kate Wax almost MCing vocals, occasionally in French.

Everyone Is Someone In LA is a lot more upbeat, a tight piece of fuzzy electro.  Tommie Sunshine, along with The Neon Fever, sings about the fast life of LA (“hustlers, makeup, Heffner, breakups”).  It’s very catchy, especially the chorus of “Everyone is someone, everyone is someone in LA, in LA”.  She’s Do D*mn Cool, in contrast, is a mix of down tempo nu-wave beats over subdued, moody vocals. 

Let Your Mind Be Your Bed returns to upbeat electro sounds, while the following track, Watching Cars Go By aka Cyberwhore, is the toughest track on the album and wouldn’t be out of place on techno dance floors.  Distorted vocals (“I will do anything, I want to be of service”) are backed by a distorted guitar riff and tough beats.  This track has already been included by Sasha and Armand Van Helden on their latest mix albums.

Hunting Season sees the return of The Neon Fever, this time singing about the singles scene.  Live instruments, including a tambourine, feature prominently.  This is followed by Nitelife Funworld, which starts with a mash of electronic sounds, before sweet electronic beats emerge.  Nina, featuring Liz Wiz on vocals, is a simple pop song with nu-wave beats.

Tyrone “Visionary” Palmer returns for the final two tracks on the album, Devin Dazzle and Neon Human.  The former is a simple ode to the protagonist of the album, very similar musically to Ready 2 Wear.  The latter starts with broken down beats, before a strong traditional electro sound appears, including a sample from the Italo disco track Watch Out from 1985.  The vocals cry out “I want to be human”, in protest against the theme of artificiality that runs through the rest of the album.

It seems that Devin Dazzle is autobiographical, given Felix’s comments in recent interviews echoing these lyrics that “I just want to kill Felix…  I’m going to try and be normal”.  Expect this to be Felix’s last album as Felix da Housecat.